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The Tigers' victory may have come through a Brewers' mistake - Albion were in the ascendancy when Irvine was sent off, with renewed belief after the Australian's goal - but Slutsky certainly did his homework.

The former Russian national team manager did his homework on his side's opponents. He was present at Boundary Park on Wednesday night for Burton's 3-2 Carabao Cup success against Oldham Athletic.

Burton Albion midfielder Jackson Irvine is given his marching orders at the KCOM (Image: James Wilson/Epic Action Imagery)

And Burton tried to surprise Hull by opting for a 3-5-2 formation instead of the 4-5-1 that they went with in the 1-0 loss to Cardiff last week.

"I watched them on Wednesday night in the Carabao Cup against Oldham but I didn't pick up too much from that because only four players started that game that started today's game," Slutsky said post-match.